There is no provision in the Constitution or the Bill of Rights for the impeachment trial of a private citizen. There is also no way an impeachment trial can take place without the Supreme Court Chief Justice prsiding. My suggestion is that all Republican Senators boycott the trial and let the democrats explain why they are holding an illegitimate Impeachment Trial without the Chief Justice. Then see how they enforce the outcome of that trial.
>> There is no provision in the Constitution or the Bill of Rights for the impeachment trial of a private citizen.
Wrong.
The Constitution demands that any Article of Impeachment must be issued against a serving, eligible public official. How long the process takes after that point is undefined.
Precedent 1: the processes around Nixon’s impeachment could’ve continued after he resigned. The reason they did not is his PROSECUTORS decided not to continue - after Nixon admitted to mistakes, expressed contrition. The other factor was compassion; Nixon’s declining health.
Precedent 2: After leaving the Presidency,
John Quincy Adams explained in his letters that he was still covered by the rules on impeachment. In fact he went one step further and indicated that he would submit to an impeachment process as long as he drew breath. As far as he was concerned, there was no statute of limitations on it... And he contended it was absolutely morally right that there should be no statute of limitations on it.
This whole legitimacy angle on the Impeachment process boils my piss quite frankly.
The topmost purpose of impeachment is to allow any elected government to depose a despot/tyrant who serves a different master other than the American people - himself or a foreign master - AND prevent that despot/tyrant from coming back into power.
You can argue all you like that Trump doesn’t deserve to be impeached at all. Fair enough. But by that logic, it was overkill to impeach Clinton for being pervy.
If you go one step further and say impeachment is invalid after leaving office, you open a door in the Constitution that was slammed shut for a reason.
Putin is effectively president for life because, at the right time, he switched offices to wipe the slate clean.
If you can’t impeach a president because he steps down, what’s to stop Biden stepping down to escape imminent impeachment under the guise of illness, handing the office to Kamala temporarily, and coming back after 6 months?
What’s to stop Biden/Kamala testing the two term limit to destruction?
You like them apples?
No?
Then stop arguing the retarded idea that impeachment must cease at the moment a POTUS steps down.